BURT, George
George BURT, editor and proprietor of the
Henry Republican, has been a resident of Marshall county since 1846, and since 1865 has
been connected with the paper, and from 1869 has been its sole
proprietor. He is a native of Connecticut,
born in Hartford, March 29, 1836, and is a son of George and
Jerusha (SPENCER) BURT, the former a native of
New York
and the latter of
Hartford,
Connecticut.
George BURT, Sr., in early life removed
form new York to Hartford, Connecticut,
where he formed the acquaintance of Miss Jerusha SPENCER, and
they were married in that city. To them were born five children,
as follows: John Spencer, editor and publisher of the Times, of
Henry; George, our subject; Elizabeth, deceased; Clarence E., a
farmer near Henry; Cornelia, wife of George N. LOSEE, of Lake City, Iowa.
In his native state and in Connecticut the father
worked at his trade of tanner and currier, and was considered a
master workman. Dull times and the possibilities of a great west
caused him to turn his face in that direction, and in 1846,
accompanied by his family, he came to Marshall county and
located on a farm near Henry, and to the close of his life
successfully followed the occupation of a farmer, save for one
winter, when he went to Chicago and worked at his trade. For
years he was well known to almost every citizen of the county.
Politically a democrat, but never an office-seeker, he wielded a
great influence in the councils of his party. Religiously, he
was a Baptist, and for many years was clerk of the church at
Henry. In all matters pertaining to the welfare of the church he
took a lively interest, and in his life endeavored to exemplify
the teachings of the blessed Savior. He died in the faith and
the blessed assurance of a life beyond the grave, in April,
1888. His good wife, who was reared a Congregationalist, but who
usually worshiped with him at the Baptist church, preceded him
to the other world some eight years, dying in 1880.
The subject of this sketch was but ten
years of age when he came with his parents to Marshall county. The succeeding seven years of
his life were spent upon his father’s farm assisting in the
necessary work of developing a productive farm from the wild
state in which it was found. As the opportunity was afforded him
he attended the pioneer schools and obtained a limited
education. The desire to learn the printer’s trade took
possession of him, however, and in 1853 he went to
Ottawa,
Ill., and entered the office of
the Free Trader, but the proprietor selling out before the
expiration of his apprenticeship, he finished his trade at La
Salle, Illinois.
After completing his trade, the roving
spirit that has seemed to possess nearly every printer form the
early days of the art to the present time took possession of
him, and for the nest eight or ten years he held cases in
offices in Peoria, Illinois; Syracuse and Rochester, New York;
New York city; Hartford, Connecticut; Springfield,
Massachusetts, and Providence, Rhode Island. In the spring of
1865 he returned to Henry, and in September following purchased
an interest in the Henry Republican, and four years later became
sole proprietor and editor.
While working in
Springfield,
Massachusetts, Mr. BURT became acquainted with
Mrs. Cornelia Anna BLAKE, nee BURT, and one year after becoming
interested in the Republican, on September 21, 1866, they were
united in marriage, at Fond du Lac,
Wisconsin. Although her maiden name was
BURT, she was not a relative of our subject. Immediately after
marriage Mr. BURT brought his young bride to his western home,
and for nearly thirty years they lived secure in each other’s
love. But death claimed the wife and mother, and on the 31st of
May, 1895, she was called to her heavenly home, leaving the
husband and two children to mourn her loss. Anna J., the eldest
child, in June, 1896, married Frank JENKS, a merchant of
Savanna, Illinois,
and now resides in that city. George A., the youngest,
yet remains at home and assists in the office of the Republican.
One child died in 1871. Mrs. BURT was reared in the Episcopalian
faith, but on coming to Henry her views underwent a change and
she embraced those of Swedenborg and became a member of the
Swedenborgian church of this place. She was a woman of lovely
disposition, a true Christian, a loving wife and mother, and her
memory is cherished not alone by the husband and children, but
innumerable friends who knew her in this life. One of the finest
monuments in the cemetery at Henry has been placed over her
grave by her loved companion, who thus attests his love and
devotion to her who walked with him along life’s journey so many
years, and who was to him truly a helpmeet.
Mr. BURT is a thorough out-and-out
republican, while his father and the entire family were and are
democrats. He attained his majority just after the birth of the
republican party. For some years prior to this the slavery
question was prominently before the people. The south was
determined to force slavery upon some of the new territories,
notwithstanding the
Missouri
compromise, and the people of the north were awakened to the
fact that unless they resisted the encroachments of the slave
power they would be at its mercy. The
new York
Tribune, edited by Horace Greeley, was the great organ of the
anti-slavery people, and the reading of this paper had its
influence upon our subject. With all the ardor of youth he
entered into the fight, and being naturally a lover of freedom
and equal rights of every man, whether white or black, he struck
telling blows at the monster evil of slavery. In 1860 he
advocated the election of
Lincoln, and again in 1864. In 1865, as
state, he purchased an interest in the Republican, and for
thirty-one years, as its editor, has advocated the principles of
the republican party and has done much in moulding public
opinion.
When Mr. BURT took possession of the
Republican it was a weak, country paper with limited
circulation. He has improved it in every respect, editorially
and mechanically, and to-day it is one of the best country
papers in the state, with a circulation of sixteen hundred
copies. It is a six column quarto, all home print, and is a
credit to the city and county in which it is printed. As editor,
Mr. BURT is alive to every interest calculated to build up the
city of Henry and surrounding country, and no
enterprise worthy of encouragement but has his hearty support.
The office is well equipped, with a steam power press, two
jobbers, paper cutter, newspaper folder, and book and job type
of latest style. He is continually adding novelties in type, and
can and does compete with offices in larger cities.
Religiously, Mr. BURT is a Swedenborgian,
and is active in the work of the church at Henry. He is a firm
and consistent believer in the doctrines promulgated by that man
of God, Emanuel Swedenborg, and has the courage of his
convictions. Fraternally, he is a Mason and has attained the
rank of Knight Templar.
Extracted May 2011 by Norma Hass from
The Biographical Record of Bureau, Marshall and Putnam Counties, Illinois, 1896.
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